When I think about blogging I cringe. What? I have to write as part of my marketing efforts. Writing is so hard. What should I write about? What will people think? I’m scared! Here is a little bit about the fear of blogging and how to get past it…
Then there’s the haunting memory of my college English class (a long time ago when Reagan was President and WHAM was popular). I had this professor who would have us come into class and immediately start writing about anything, or a given topic.
I dreaded this class. To top it off, he would stamp my paper with an image of a banjo, he called it his happy banjo which meant that he approved of the writing and I got credit (yay!). Believe me, as time went, I couldn’t wait for that stamp – as quirky as it was. (I’ll admit – I entertained thoughts of what he could do with that stamp, being the stressed out student I was!)
Looking back at that experience, it was a turning point for me. I started feeling comfortable writing since I was forced to in a structured way. This helped immensely with my essay exams and term papers throughout my college days.
Fast forward a couple of decades, faced with the idea of having to blog for my keep. Some of the old fears came back. Like anything I haven’t done in a long time, I was out of practice. Starting to miss and appreciate the Happy Banjo days.
Starting Somewhere…
I went back to what I already learned – JUST START WRITING!
Now I write about my blogging niche, or about anything, if nothing is coming to mind. It’s called Free Writing and it’s a great exercise to get the creative juices flowing.
Writing is a skill that needs to be practiced everyday. I set time aside when I’m at my best and start writing. I set a timer and write continuously for a set amount of time.
Doing The Brain Dump
During the free writing process, I dump everything I know about the subject I’m going to write about. Outlining now becomes important to figuring out how I’m going to organize my post. This is also where I create my angle and how I’m going to put some personality into the post.
Outlining 101
Yes, outlining is something you should do to organize your writing thoughts. Once you start your post it will be less scary if you have a plan of what you are going to write. It will go faster and you’ll have less time to over think your writing and become fearful and quit.
Now here’s a flashback to high school English…
The almighty outline should go something like this (minus the Roman Numerals):
Topic:
Introduction:
Point 1, 2, 3
Subtopic 1:
Point 1, 2, 3
Subtopic 2:
Point 1, 2, 3
Subtopic 3:
Point 1, 2, 3
Conclusion:
Point 1, 2, 3
Of course this is just a guide to keep you on track. It may vary depending on the length of your post. Most importantly is to have some balance and have your content flow and make sense to your reader.
The Fear Factor
I know it’s scary putting yourself out there. Writing is like baring your soul, and being exposed and possibly criticized for your skills and knowledge.
Or that awful comparison we make to the already established blogger out there, and how we will never measure up (they had to start somewhere too!).
Fear not, most of that is in your head!
Fear is a good thing when it keeps us from danger.
The bad fear is the obstacle we create in our mind keeping us from success. That negative self talk we play over and over in our head.
We can look at fear as
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
Guess what? This kind of fear can be overcome with knowledge. If you as a blogger do your research, and know your audience, you can successfully convey that in your practiced writing skills.
Helpful Tips
- Do your research to help with your own fluency on the subject
- Know your audience and understand their pain points
- Write with empathy
- Inject your own personality into it ( you are unique and you have something important to say)
- Know the mechanics of a blog post – keeping it neat and clean
I know you can do this. It takes practice. Before you know it, you will be putting out valuable content in record time with little fear.
Your Happy Banjo awaits!
So…
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God Bless,
Marie